


September's Story

by Adamsark



Category: Little Nightmares (Video Game)
Genre: Jumpchain - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-19 04:47:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29994099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adamsark/pseuds/Adamsark
Summary: Waking up in The Nest, September finds himself in a body not his own, hunted by monstrous creatures maintaining the massive mansion. Can he survive, and figure out what's happening?
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	1. The Build

[LITTLE NIGHTMARES GAUNTLET](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KcyuZfjpyiSkGo7QaqSI0BPq2oX5y33UZTEzoKZwShw/edit#)

  
**BIODATA**

Background: Child

Starting Location: The Nest

**PERKS {400}**

Little In Little Nightmare [FREE] - You can choose to be nine years old in future jumps instead of the set age.

MonoThinMono [FREE] - Time gets 'soft' whenever events that alter history would remove or alter you, granting you a chance to escape the effect.

Feed The Maw [FREE] - The amount of food you need to consume is drastically increased, but you'll always find something to sate yourself before you'd starve.

The Toddler (Reward) [-100-] - Your general ability to traverse terrain is enhanced.

The Fat Kid [100] - Your strength is unnatural for being so small. You can wield normal-sized tools and weapons with only moderate difficulty, and you have the physical prowress of a normal human adult.

The Runaway [300] - You've always got a spark of Hope, allowing you to push on even when under mind-shattering amounts of stress and despair. This font of Hope inspires others to push through their own troubles, too. You also always have a chance for a 'Happy Ending', no matter how bad things get.

**ITEMS {50}**

Iconic Outfit [FREE] - [A burlap sack mask loosely tied on with a piece of rope](https://trickortreatstudios.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1da4909b8e3ea5eea17a9fb4c6e4a516/s/a/sack_o_path_halloween_mask_4.png), [a long-sleeve flannel shirt, and jean overalls](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/79/13/85/7913858152f56ca1bb010f6e74bb22dd.jpg).

Mono (Reward) [-100-]

Six (Reward) [-100-]

Canon Kids (The Girl with the Yellow Raincoat/Malory) [50]

Canon Kids (The Runaway/Deuce: Reward) [-50-]

**DRAWBACKS {+450}**

(CHAIN) No Drawbacks For You!-San [+100] - Cannot take non-Universal Drawbacks Supplement Drawbacks.

(CHAIN) Without Why [+100] - You do not know about the mechanics of your Jumpchain adventure.

(JUMP) No Exit [+50] - You must at least stay in the periphery of the Jump's plot.

Challenge Starting Bonus [+200]


	2. The Nest - Attic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two kids wake up in a crashed balloon, stranded in the very top of a strange mansion...

September awoke to the world falling out under him. Wood smashed into wood, and a jolt as his head smacked into a hard surface. He groaned in pain, trying to make sense of what he was feeling and seeing. Something was blocking his sight, and had a scratchy texture across the bridge of his nose. Sitting up, he felt along his head, rearranging the bag on his head a bit revealed eye holes, replacing the dark brown with a rubbery yellow.

A girl in a raincoat was staring at him, her eyes concealed by the hood and her hair. Both of them were unmoving, until the girl broke the stare down by smiling at him, offering a hand. He took it, using her as a counterweight to get himself standing. It didn't work very well, when they realized he was a few heads taller than her, and much heavier. Clumsily, they stumbled into each other, but September was now standing, if awkwardly close.

Rasping coughs came out of his mouth instead of thankful words, the scratchiness of a dry throat making itself known. It hurt to even open his mouth, and the most he could get out was a light hum. The girl's lips quirk upwards for a second, before she turns to point behind September.

The room, its wooden structure bare to see and covered in bird droppings, had a large gap leading outwards. Well, there was also the hole in the roof, but there was no real way to get up there right now. The big basket they were standing in along with the balloon above painted a clear picture of why the hole was there, but didn't explain the situation September was in. Had he lost his memory, only remembering up to a certain point? If that was the case, maybe the girl knew who he was? There was also something off about his body, more than just losing a good chunk of body weight. It was like gravity itself wasn't pulling him down as hard as it should, leaving him with a floaty sort of feel, as if a good jump could send him flying.

No, hopping in place, that seemed to be the case as September rose straight up into the air, flailing wildly to catch himself when he met the ground. He caught himself, barely. He'd easily jumped as high as his own height! Spooked, he would have continued testing out his body, but a short bark of noise came from the gap in the wall, the girl beckoning him to follow.

Through the gap lead to what could only be described as a rickety walkway of planks on poles crossing the a long pit. More holes in the roof gave off light, but darkness swallowed up anything past a few feet down. Birds hooted, some of them nesting in the poorly crafted birdhouses hung to the walls. September's companion started moving forwards, her feet slapping quietly against raw timber. He followed along carefully, keeping back when the flooring creaked dangerously when they both stood in the same section.

A harsh creak, then the sound of cracking, the girl plummeted down! He gasped, a desperate hand jolting forwards to reach for her. Fortune struck true, as the girl caught a hand on the platform at the last second, but could only hold on desperately, struggling to pull herself up. Acting quickly, he got onto his stomach just a few inches from the gap, sticking his arm down to grasp the back of her coat. Surprise blossoms in September, as he lifts the girl up single-handedly. She weighs next to nothing, it's as if he's got a particularly large stuffed animal grasped in his hand. With the lessened pull of gravity, the girl clambers back onto solid ground, frightened but whole. They stay there for a moment, before the girl hums like he had early.

It's a little moment of understanding between the two. Whatever happens, they know they can trust each other now, at least that's how September interprets the reaction.

The new gap between them isn't too big that September can't just take a very _very_ long step to overcome it. His shifting weight on the broken plank threatened to break it again, so he strode forwards quickly. The girl had waited a half-dozen feet away, though continued on now that he'd followed. 

Further on, the walkway split, an addition going towards the wall and running along its length. The girl stopped for a second before deciding to go the long way around. The reason was obvious as he took the same path, allowing him to see the other one's large crack running down the middle. 

It's as he lags behind that a bird flits down onto the walkway that everything September knows is thrown for a loop. The bird is gigantic! It's a pigeon from what he can tell, but easily three feet tall. It coos, turning to stare at him with beady eyes. carefully he approached the avian, getting closer and closer. It's inches from him, but if it's like any other flying rat, he knows exactly how it would react. He lets out a yell, startling the bird into flight. he chuckled and watched as it made its way into one of the birdhouses, continuing on his way.

Eventually, the duo manage to cross the entire pit, before coming to an angled board leading to a ladder a bit further ahead. The girl goes first. The ten-foot-long plank bends as she makes her way across, but she makes it safely to the other side.

It's his turn. There's a decent chance the board won't hold, so September backs up, and begins to sprint. Right as he's at the edge of the platform, he jumps. He clears a third. Half. Two-thirds. His feet touch down at three-quarters. The sagging board holds him up enough to bounce off.

He'd made it across, but momentum is still in effect, so his body smacked into the structure. His head impacted one board that'd been jutting out a bit, and while it doesn't do more than rattle him temporarily, there's no doubt a bruise will form later.

Reverberations pass through the wood from the collision. A clang is heard from above, he has just enough time to notice the heavy metal cylinder falling downwards, before it smashes into the angled plank, destroying it.

Well, there's definitely no way back now.

The girl goes up first, then him. The ladder doesn't present any problems thankfully. Up above, they find a raised platform covered in tanks, planks, and rope. A massive fan attached to a motor of some sorts dangled precariously to a thick piece of cordage. As luck would have it, there's another gap, though it's boarded up. September and the girl grip one end of the blockage, and pull. It comes out with ease. Too much ease. The second board September tackled solo, which lead to a similar situation, removing the board like it hadn't been hammered into place with just a quick tug.

Giant birds, super strength, and reduced gravity, it was like he was dreaming. But he wasn't. The rough texture on his feet, the ache of the forming bruise on his head, and the general 'realness' of the girl convinced him this was actually happening. It was a bit of a shock, but September just had to hope that things would start to make sense soon.

Through the gap, they found themselves in a concrete-poured room filled with metal boxes, electrical lights granting vision. Pipes ran along the walls and dominated the rooftop. Both he and the girl peered downwards from atop a giant pile of crates in one corner. Luckily, the bars created an improvised latter.

Halfway down, September heard a noise above him. It was another girl, way up in the pipes! She stared down at him and the raincoat-hooded girl, before scrambling away through a hole they'd never be able to reach. A strange occurrence, for sure. The duo swept their eyes along the same wall the girl had gone through, spotting a large vent that could probably fit the both of them.

The towers of crates and planks crossing them made it a bit of a pain to get across the room, but a long reach allowed September to just climb across gaps with ease. His companion had followed along, ending atop a pile of cages just in front of him. There was no quick way down he could see, but there was a simple solution for that. He held his hands out, and she seemed to get the message, turning herself around to allow herself to dangle from the top. It was a short distance between his hands and her feet, so she only fell a very short distance, making it down safely.

Through the vent they went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WORDCOUNT: 1481  
> Banked Words: 481  
> Points gained: 1
> 
> Purchasing new Skill - Jumping [1].  
> 0 Points remain...


	3. The Nest - Warehouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A child in a cage, a monster in a wheelchair, and a narrow escape.

The harsh whine of metal on metal echoed in the newest room as September and The Girl in the Yellow Raincoat popped out of the vent atop a wooden shelf near the top of the room. He caught sight of a ginormous metal door slamming down, but not what had closed it. The girl made quick work of the pile of cages acting as a ladder, and had already climbed down by the time September had made his way to the top of the pile.

Once his feet hit the floor, he turned around, finding The Girl staring into one of the crates in the middle of the room. On closer inspection, he could hear something coming from within releasing a steady sob.

It was another kid, this one sporting a bright red scarf. He looked miserable, his hands trying to pry off a large lock keeping in him inside the metal box. "snälla hjälp mig!" He said hoarsely, in a language that September couldn't understand, "Nyckeln, det är i nästa rum!". Fortunately, it seemed that The Girl knew what the boy was saying, as she nodded. Then she was off, scaling boxes to reach a button besides the door.

Instead of the door pulling upwards and letting them through, it only went up a few inches, before a grinding noise could be heard, and it stopped in its tracks. Well, here was a good use for his unusual strength. Walking to the door, September wrapped his hands around the bottom of the door, and pulled as hard as he could. It was heavy, but not terribly so, slowly lifting upwards as time went by. By the time The Girl had joined him, he'd raised the door to just above his head, more than enough to pass under. Some careful repositioning, then September dropped the door, which came to a stop at the same spot it got stuck at beforehand, and they were both in the other room.

It was much smaller than the last room, more akin to a hallway, what with the two other doors leading to who knew where. There was a single cage, opened underneath an oversized ceramic sink. No, it wasn't just the sink and the doors that were too big, everything else was at a consistently huge scale, from the cardboard boxes, the cabinet in the corner, to the many buckets under a table in the last corner. So it wasn't that the world was huge, it was more likely that September was just tiny.

Off like a shot, The Girl inexplicably made her way to the cabinet, opening it and starting to climb to the top. Looking higher, September caught sight of a large key in a bottle at the very top, but didn't know how The Girl was going to retrieve the key. Reaching the top, she looked back down, before raising her hands, then hugging herself.

Then she began pushing the bottle off the cabinet. Acting as quick as he could, September positioned himself above the falling bottle, catching it awkwardly. He let out a huff of air as the weight change knocked him back a bit, but the bottle hadn't shattered all over the ground. He retrieved it, giving it to his companion when she made it down. They made their way back to the malfunctioning door, and he lifted it back up again.

The Girl crossed the threshold, and made her way to the cage, giant key in hand. September felt a tremble in his limbs, the weight of the door tiring him. Still, it would be less fatiguing than having to lift the heavy thing another time, so he kept it up while waiting. Thankfully, The Girl and the Scarf-wearing Boy hurried over and into the other room.

Muscles straining, he let go, but the door didn't stop, slamming into the ground with a crash. The boy hissed, "Å nej!" he said like a curse, and bolted for the wooden door. Startling, the others joined him, reaching it as the second metal door began to rise. September took a second to look back, seeing what could only be described as a monstrous caricature of a human. It was a freakish-looking humanoid hunched over in a wheelchair, its arms and legs twisted and elongated to unnatural proportions. Its face was covered in goggles and a face mask, and it had stringy white hair while its scalp was bald.

Upon spotting them it let out a yell, and began wheeling towards them. Reaching the door, September dug in, and tackled it as hard as he could, pain blossoming in his shoulder, but the obstacle was thrown wide open! 

September ran around the opened door as his companions ran into the room, and shoved the door back into place, holding it closed himself now that the lock was busted. There was a moment of tension, and then the monster tried to push open the door! The monster was probably much stronger than him, but a combination of its poor grip on the door and its need to ground itself with one arm meant that the two of them were evenly matched, at least until September tired himself out.

The way forwards was blocked by a minecart, half the room blocked by debris, the other missing a huge chunk of the floor... but it seemed like his tentative companion had a solution, as The Girl ran to the side, activating a lever. The minecart started moving somehow, trundling along its path, and coming at a stop on the other side of the room. The other kids ran past the tracks, but seemed to stop and look around for an exit, anywhere they could go.

The door opened a crack.

It was no good, September couldn't keep it up! He shoved backwards one last time, before cutting his losses and running to the other side of the room. The creature burst in as he'd gotten over the tracks. The tracks, which the monster couldn't overcome with its wheelchair. Instead of giving up though, it lurched forwards, flopping onto its stomach, groaning and moaning, dragging itself along behind him. He got past a plank sticking out when he saw the cart moving back towards him!

Diving to the side, September just made it out of the way of the speeding cart, which slammed into the monster. It let out a painful screech as the cart impacted it, sending it and the cart plummeting into the hole in the ground. There was a loud bang, the monster's wail coming to an abrupt halt, and then nothing more.

Gasping for breath, September trundled towards the kids. The Girl was all smiles and relieved body language, while The Boy seemed anxious, flinching at the smallest of noises. "det är inte säkert! För många tillsammans..." He muttered, before he turned around.

Suddenly, The Boy started to strip. Hat, scarf, coat, shirt, and pants were pulled off, before he walked over to a large grate in the ground, pulling it off, and sitting himself onto the ledge of the vent. September went to stop the fool from plummeting who knows how far, but The Boy let out a yell, "Gör det inte! Håll dig borta!".

September felt something grasp his hand. The Girl kept him still, a frown on her face as she shook her head. He turned back, stared, and watched as the boy fell. They stood there for a minute, maybe two, waiting for a noise or something to come from the vent, but it never came.

As a memento, he took the scarf, replacing the short rope tying the sack mask on his head.

Sullenly, they returned to their trek. September tried the door on this side of the room, but found it to be locked, and he was still too exhausted to try and ram it open. Luckily, there was another vent in the corner, which they could easily reach by climbing the carts stashed in the corner.

Hopefully, there wouldn't be too much danger going forwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WORDCOUNT: 1342  
> Banked Words: 823  
> Points gained: 1
> 
> Purchasing new Skill - Jumping [1].  
> 0 Points remain...
> 
> 0-0-0-0-0
> 
> Malory, The Girl in the Yellow Raincoat {40} (As of Chapter 2)  
> STATS  
> Primaries: ST 5 [-50]; DX 13 [60]; IQ 10; HT 10.  
> Secondaries: HP 5; WIL 10; PER 10; FP 10; SPD 6 [5]; MOV 7 [5].  
> Derivatives: SM -4 (10", 6 lbs), BL 5 lbs; DAM 1d-4 Thr/1d-3 Sw.
> 
> TRAITS  
> Mental: Selfless (CR 12) [-5]  
> Physical: Perfect Balance [15]; Reduced Consumption 4 (Cast-Iron Stomach, -50%) [4]; Less Sleep 2 [4]; Cannot Speak [-15]; Combat Paralysis [-15].  
> Social: Pitiable [5]; Appearance (Average) [0]; Cultural Familiarity (World of Nightmares: Native, {-1}) [0]; Language (Childish, Native Spoken: Native, {-6}) [-3].
> 
> SKILLS  
> Primary Skills: Climbing* (DX/A+2) [4]-15; Gesture (IQ/E+2) [4]-12; Stealth (DX/A+1) [4]-14; Throwing (DX/A+1) [4]-14.  
> Secondary Skills: Area Knowledge (The Pale City: IQ/E+2) [4]-12; Piloting* (DX/A+2) [4]-15; Urban Survival (PER/A+0) [2]-10.  
> Background Skills: Fishing (PER/E+0) [1]-10; Scrounging (PER/E+0) [1]-10; Signing (HT/E+0) [1]-10; Cooking (IQ/A-1) [1]-9.
> 
> *Perfect Balance grants +1 to Climbing and Piloting.


	4. The Nest - Hall of Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bypassing the Hall of Eyes, Hopping across the Cleaning Room, retrieving the crank key in the Salt Room, and getting past the Barrel Storage.

Darkness greeted September in the newest room. What little light that was there seemed to whip about, swiveling back and forth. He and The Girl made their way slowly forwards, occasionally bumping into crates or cages. It wasn't too long before they approached one of the lights. The light's fixture was themed after an eye, the light following anywhere it 'looked'. Strangely, there was a statue of a child that the beam would pass over, which confusing him a bit. In fact, why did this all look familiar? The danger of the Eye somewhat revealed, both he and his companion came to the same conclusion: Dodge the light.

Once the light started moving away from their hiding place, The Girl sprinted to a cage that was in the path of the Eye's gaze, crouching down as it passed over her. A problem arose then, as the blob that was her contour in the darkness disappeared, leaving September alone. It was his turn to go.

Still somewhat tired, he was moving slower than The Girl, resulting in the Eye just barely passing over him as he got to the first crate. A paralyzing feeling overcame him, like someone was squeezing him tight! Thankfully, he fell forwards, into the shadow of the metal box. Slowly, the feeling faded, and the gaze of the Eye returned to it's pattern.

This wasn't going to work, thought there was a simple solution right besides him. Grabbing the bars of the cage, September heaved, scrapping the box along the floor, but moving forwards slowly. The light passed over the box and stopped, yet its immobilizing effect was blocked! After a while, he eventually reach a second smaller cage, too small to hide his entire body. It was simple enough to push it out of the way, and continue to drag the larger one forwards.

Not too far after that, he came upon some boxes stacked upwards, with The Girl standing on top of the lowest one. She made a motion to follow, and so September did. They climbed upwards, coming to another level, the luminescence of the lanterns lighting it up hidden from the sharp drop to the lower level. There were more crates and wall-mounted lanterns up here, as well as several solid-looking metal doors that were locked, so there was no way getting into anything up here. She'd guided him to a wooden crate a few inches from tipping over the edge, looking like a good shove would send it careening downwards. The Girl made a grabbing motion, then pointed to September. Getting the gist of it, he grabbed the box and carried to somewhat heavy object, following behind her by crab-walking, leveraging the box on his knees to see ahead.

It wasn't too difficult to carry the wooden box, but it was cumbersome and prone to slipping from his grip slightly whenever he took a few steps. Thankfully, he didn't need to go too far, as The Girl turned around, and pointed over the edge. September positioned the box like she wanted, then let go. It fell, smashing into the ground below into a mess of debris. There was a click, and what September thought was a wall began to lower! It had actually been an elevator, overfilled with cages.

When it was completely lowered, The Girl leapt onto the highest crate, and began scaling downwards. The actions he had taken were now obvious: There was an Eye at the end of the lower level slowly panning from one side to the other, but no coverage for them to bypass it. By timing their descent down the elevator properly, they could bypass the Eye, and get to the next room. Once again, the girl went first, getting by the Eye's sight with ease.

Even with the delay, there was no way September could clamber down the crates in time to dodge the light.

He would have to get down faster somehow.

Heaving himself onto the top cage, September waited for the Eye to start rotating away from the door... and then he let go! Falling feet first, there was a great jolt in his legs as he impacted the ground, but nothing felt broken! September stumbled forwards on tingly legs, making it through the door.

Once again, they came to a room full of crates, thought this time they were mostly made of wood. A few stacks of pallets were placed around the room haphazardly as well, and cleaning supplies were left scattered about. There was a half-wall breaking up the room, and what appeared to be two locked metal doors that might of lead to each other? There wasn't much blocking their way, though The Girl scaled up towards the shelves and descended using a dangling cord from a light on the other side of the room, while September only had to hop the wall.

The monotony of rooms filled with boxes was broken up with one that had it's floor completely filled with salt! A makeshift walkway around the room had been built so as to not step in the stuff, and there was a decent amount of tools and sacks to transport the stuff here and there. The bad news was the next door was locked, with an odd crank-operated key. The key itself wasn't far from the lock, having fallen out and into the salt. September only had to bend over to grasp it. There was a moment of surprise when a teeny-tiny thing was pulled out with the key, a little humanoid with a pointy cap on its head. It made clicking noises as it ran away, diving back into the salt after a few seconds of scurrying about. The key was placed in the lock, was cranked, and the way was cleared.

Then came the room full of barrels. It definitely smelt like the insides of a distillery, the nauseating smell of chemicals wafting around the room. What was strangest of all was the random pressure plate that controlled the door in the middle of the room. What could it have been for? All September had to do to get through was to drag the large box just off to the side onto the plate, opening the door.

The duo continued on, hoping their quick pace could be kept up...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WORDCOUNT: 1053  
> Banked Words: 876  
> Points gained: 1
> 
> Mallory has gained 1 Point!


End file.
